Chapter 5 1 If you increased your influence with your boss by drawing her attention

Exam

Name___________________________________

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

1)

Beverly regularly communicates with both Doris and Albert to share important information, but

Doris and Albert don’t know each other. One day, Doris and Albert strike up a friendship and start

sharing information. According to structural hole theory, which of the following is not true?

1)

A)

Beverly has less influence than she used to.

B)

Beverly has lost a structural hole in her network.

C)

Beverly is now getting better information than she did before.

D)

Beverly’s network provides her less centrality than it previously did.

2)

What does relevance as a power base refer to?

2)

A)

How many other people recognize an individual

B)

The amount of discretion one might have

C)

The relevant position the individual has within the organization’s communication network

D)

Being associated with activities that are directly related to the organization’s central objectives

3)

A negative view of “personal power” is held by cultures that place a high value on which of the

following?

3)

A)

Individualism

B)

Isolationism

C)

Achievement

D)

Ascription

4)

If you increased your influence with your boss by drawing her attention to problems that concern

you, what have you done?

4)

A)

Utilized the concept of “benefiting the boss”

B)

Utilized the concept of “visibility”

C)

Utilized the concept of “relevance”

D)

Utilized the concept of “issue selling”

5)

Which of the following is not a determinant associated with position power?

5)

A)

Flexibility

B)

Relevance

C)

Visibility

D)

Expertise

E)

Centrality

6)

Which of the following advice is consistent with centrality as a power base?

6)

A)

Be the first person to volunteer to give a presentation so that others recognize your face.

B)

It‘s a good idea to be an “organizational misfit” with an atypical career path.

C)

Develop a network full of people who share your personal values and experiences.

D)

Putting in more hours than anyone else will lead to greater power.

7)

What should subordinates perceive about their boss in order to feel a higher status in the

organization and to feel higher morale?

7)

A)

He is equal to them.

B)

He has considerable “clout.”

C)

He has considerable downward influence.

D)

He is on their side.

8)

Which of the following characteristics is not an important source of personal power?

8)

A)

Expertise

B)

Legitimacy

C)

Flexibility

D)

Effort

E)

Personal attraction

C

B

9)

Morgan has become indispensable to her boss. Her boss believes that Morgan is a diligent worker

who can be trusted with sensitive projects. What is Morgan’s power most likely due to?

9)

A)

Legitimacy

B)

Effort

C)

Personal attraction

D)

Expertise

10)

If you want to increase your power by having information routed through your position and by

increasing the technical sophistication of your work, what have you increased?

10)

A)

The decision–making opportunities of your job

B)

Latitude and flexibility of your job

C)

The visibility of your job

D)

Centrality of your position

D

B

11)

If you would like to expand your power base horizontally, what could you do?

11)

A)

Focus on increasing your power through the formal organizational powers

B)

Do an excellent job on all your assignments

C)

Have lunch with co–workers in your department every day

D)

Have lunch with workers from other departments

12)

You just convinced your boss that you need to increase cooperation across departments for the Web

project that you were assigned to lead to be successful. How have you increased your power?

12)

A)

Personal attraction of your position

B)

Legitimacy of your position

C)

Centrality of your position

D)

Visibility of your position

E)

Relevance of your position

13)

The strength of one’s personal powers would impact which influence strategy the most?

13)

A)

Regard

B)

Reciprocity

C)

Reason

D)

Retribution

14)

If you use the influence strategy that helps others to see why they should do what you say, which

influence strategy are you using?

14)

A)

Reciprocity approach

B)

Positional approach

C)

Retribution approach

D)

Reason approach

15)

A fast–food company does not promote anyone to manager unless he or she started at the

beginning, flipping burgers. This is an example of a company promoting which type of power?

15)

A)

Attraction power

B)

Effort power

C)

Visibility power

D)

Relevance power

E)

Legitimacy power

16)

Your boss is discussing power and influence and states, “Power is a necessary precondition for

influence.” Should you agree or disagree?

16)

A)

You should disagree.

B)

You should agree.

C)

There is not enough information to decide.

17)

You are buying a house. The seller recently lowered the asking price, but the price is still higher

than your initial offer. The broker states, “The seller lowered his price, and I think you should raise

your offer.” What type of influence strategy is being utilized?

17)

A)

Reason

B)

Retribution

C)

Reciprocity

D)

Coercion

18)

What will a performance appraisal system that rewards initiative and innovation do?

18)

A)

Increase one’s discretion and thus the potential for more power

B)

Decrease one’s flexibility and therefore his/her power base

C)

May be too erratic to allow one to develop a strong power base

D)

Promote more people to higher positions

compliance. Here, the broker has not told you why it makes sense to do what he

19)

During the interview process, the interviewer told you that the position you have applied for has

been in this organization for over 50 years. You have been looking for a job that affords you

discretion. Which statement describes your reaction to the news from the interviewer?

19)

A)

Not so good news

B)

Good news, all the problems have been worked out.

C)

Interesting, but not related to the amount of discretion you might have

20)

You are graduating this summer and are seeking an influential position. Your major is finance.

Which job should you choose to maximize your relevant power?

20)

A)

Working for a stockbroker firm making $25,000

B)

Working for a large oil company making $35,000

C)

Working for an electronics firm making $32,000

D)

Working for a small software firm making $20,000

21)

Members of a work team are in a meeting where the director of the department is present. At the

end of the meeting, the presenter asks, “What are your reactions to my presentation?” The members

of the work team look at the director and wait for his response. Which factors most likely determine

a person’s power in this organization?

21)

A)

Ingratiation

B)

Personal attributes

C)

Position characteristics

D)

Being intimidating

22)

What is the notion of legitimacy within an organization related to?

22)

A)

The position within the hierarchy

B)

Policies, procedures, and rules

C)

The credibility of the education level of a person

D)

Corporate cultural values

23)

You have a desire to move up in the company. You have been offered two positions. One position

is more people oriented and the other position is more task oriented. Which position should you

take?

23)

A)

You should take the people–oriented position.

B)

You should take the task–oriented position.

C)

It doesn’t matter. Either position will work equally well, assuming you do a good job.

24)

The task force has been meeting for several weeks on distributing bonuses for employees but has

become hopelessly stalled. You were added to the committee to influence the group’s decision.

What will this do to your influence?

24)

A)

It will only increase your influence if others are removed from the committee when you are

added.

B)

This will help your influence, and you should have some significant influence over the

group‘s deliberations.

C)

It will only increase your influence if others are added to the committee at the same time as

you.

D)

This will make it difficult to have influence.

25)

A friend came to you and stated, “I am flunking my management class. I need to pass or I won’t

graduate. Will you please help me?” Your friend is using which influence strategy?

25)

A)

Legitimacy

B)

Centrality

C)

Retribution

D)

Reason

E)

Reciprocity

D

26)

According to structural hole theory, what is the best configuration of your network to ensure

maximum power for yourself?

26)

A)

You are at the center of a very decentralized network.

B)

You build connections with people who share the same information base as yourself.

C)

Your connections are also connected to each other to ensure the free flow of information.

D)

Your connections are not connected to each other, so that you bridge gaps between people.

27)

Which of the following characteristics are important sources of personal power?

27)

A)

Knowledge

B)

Criticality

C)

Relevance

D)

Flexibility

28)

Which of the following is true about neutralizing retribution strategies?

28)

A)

You should examine the intent of your superior’s gift–giving.

B)

If necessary, you should actively resist, and “fight fire with fire.”

C)

You should avoid directly confronting exploitative people because they will use their power

to seek retribution against you.

D)

You should move away from mutual dependence.

29)

Which of the following is not an appropriate technique for neutralizing reason strategies?

29)

A)

Firmly refuse to comply with the request.

B)

Confront individuals who are using manipulative bargaining tactics.

C)

Explain the adverse effects of compliance on performance.

D)

Defend your personal rights.

30)

In a company that sells golf clubs, a job in which department has more relevance power?

30)

A)

Research and development

B)

Sales

C)

Human resource management

D)

Accounting

31)

If you want to increase the relevance of your job to the organization, what should you do?

31)

A)

Expand the number of contacts you have with senior people.

B)

Make at least part of your job unique.

C)

Reduce the percentage of routine activities in your job.

D)

Become a trainer or mentor for new employees.

32)

If a person desires to move up in the general management hierarchy, what should he/she do?

32)

A)

Develop a niche

B)

Build a broad knowledge base

C)

Become a specialist

D)

Become a specialist while developing a niche

33)

If you took on functions essential for the performance of other activities, how have you expanded

your power?

33)

A)

Relevance

B)

Visibility

C)

Flexibility

D)

Centrality

34)

Management is looking for someone to work the holidays. You believe that management would

think better of you if you worked the holidays. If you work the holidays, which influence strategy

was utilized?

34)

A)

Reason

B)

Expert

C)

Retribution

D)

Reciprocity

35)

A co–worker tells you that an effective strategy for capturing managers’ attention is to make it clear

the issue can be resolved. Is this good advice?

35)

A)

Yes

B)

No

C)

Who knows? Not enough information is provided.

36)

You have received a letter from North American Family Publishers sweepstakes with pictures of

Dick McMahon and Ed Clark that states, “You are our newest $10 million winner!* However, you

must act in 24 hours by buying numerous magazine subscriptions to secure your prize.” You read

further to find the fine print that says, “*Only if you have the winning number.” What influence

strategy is being utilized?

36)

A)

Reason

B)

Reciprocity

C)

Expert

D)

Retribution

37)

What are the two basic factors that influence a person’s power in an organization?

37)

A)

Personal attributes and position characteristics

B)

Position characteristics and personal aspirations

C)

Personal attributes and position manipulation

D)

Personal goals and position characteristics

38)

One should use reciprocity when (1) there is sufficient time to reach satisfactory agreements, (2) no

other alternatives exist, and (3) quality and innovation are not important. Which statements are

correct?

38)

A)

All three statements are correct.

B)

Only statement 1 is correct.

C)

Statements 2 and 3 are correct.

D)

Statements 1 and 3 are correct.

E)

Only statement 2 is correct.

39)

Strategies that neutralize reciprocity strategies include (1) confront the exploiting individual

directly, (2) examine the intent of any favor–giving activity, and (3) confront the individual who is

using manipulative bargaining tactics. Which statements are correct?

39)

A)

All three statements are correct.

B)

Statements 1 and 3 are correct.

C)

Statements 2 and 3 are correct.

D)

Only statement 3 is correct.

E)

Only statement 1 is correct.

40)

Your boss asks, “I’ve talked to others in your group and they have agreed to work this weekend.

Can I count on you?” To offset this influence, what should you say?

40)

A)

“I can’t do it. Get someone else.”

B)

“Why can’t you do it?”

C)

“I understand the problem. However, I also have a meeting scheduled with our major client to

discuss some problems they had with our last shipment. Do you suppose we could employ a

temp or should I cancel my meeting?”

D)

“Normally, I could, but I have a meeting with our client this weekend to assess the problems

we have with shipping. If you give me more warning next time, maybe I can help out. Maybe

you should hire a temp this time.”

41)

Which influence strategy respects the rights of others, honors the concept of fairness, and attempts

to strengthen the ongoing relationships between parties?

41)

A)

Retribution

B)

Reciprocity

C)

Positional

D)

Centrality

E)

Reason